16mm Aerial Shoot - what to use?

[Kristoffer Newsom]

Hey Folks, I'm going to be doing some aerial cinematography of San Francisco here pretty soon, either with an Arri SR, or an Aaton, or a Bolex. We're doing a test shoot on Sunday, and I had some questions for folks who have had experience with aerial shoots (I myself have no experience shooting motion picture footage from a moving aircraft).

 

Here's the dilemma: Will a heavier camera (ie the Arriflex, or as I like to call it, the Beariflex) iron out more minor shakes and shimmies that might get translated through with a lighter camera like the Aaton or the Bolex?

 

Second big question: Will underclocking it a bit (like say shooting 10 or 15fps) also iron out minor bumps and make the image seem a bit smoother as well as faster?

 

We're not using a harness or anything like that, so we're shooting from INSIDE the Cessna, with the window removed, the tripod sandbaged to the plane, using a Zeiss variable zoom lens. I WANT to use a 25mm cook prime, but that might not happen. Stock is Kodak 500T.

 

third question: since we're shooting at night/in the evening, what filter can I use to even out the lights and contrast of the image a bit? or would it be best to not use a filter at all (that's what my intuition is telling me, but like I said, I've never done aerial before).

 

Thanks for any advice you folks might have in advance!

 

-Kris

[jasarsenault]

I SHOT A BIT OF ARIAL ON 16MM. I THINK YOU WILL WANT TO SHOOT AT A FASTER FRAME RATE, SLOWING THE IMAGE DOWN. yOU WILL BE GOING QUITE FAST AND SMALL PLANES BOUNCE A LOT. WHEN THE PLANE SHAKES, YOU WILL NOTICE THIS MORE IF YOU SHOOT AT A LOWER FRAME RATE. AS WELL, ORGANIZATION AND SOMEONE TO ASSIST YOU WITH HANDING YOU SUPPPLIES IS A MUST.

jASON

[John Mastrogiacomo]

Try to go up when the weather is calm. That makes a big difference with a small plane. Keep the camera within the plane. The wind will affect the camera a lot. Definately shoot at a higher frame rate. The wider the angle of your lens, the smoother the film will be.

 

John Mastrogiacomo

Spectra Video :)

 

I SHOT A BIT OF ARIAL ON 16MM. I THINK YOU WILL WANT TO SHOOT AT A FASTER FRAME RATE, SLOWING THE IMAGE DOWN. yOU WILL BE GOING QUITE FAST AND SMALL PLANES BOUNCE A LOT. WHEN THE PLANE SHAKES, YOU WILL NOTICE THIS MORE IF YOU SHOOT AT A LOWER FRAME RATE. AS WELL, ORGANIZATION AND SOMEONE TO ASSIST YOU WITH HANDING YOU SUPPPLIES IS A MUST.

jASON

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

:)

[Matt Pacini]

At the risk of sounding morbid or disrespectful to Neil Frederick, plan an aescape plan in case something goes wrong with the flight, and don't strap the camera to your body, or have the equipment where it could block your exit in an emergency.

 

I don't know all the details of Neil's death, but there was some indication that he may have been the only one not to escape when the plane was going down in the water, because he was strapped to the camera somehow, and/or that it was rigged to the plane.

 

Matt Pacini